Acting President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday assigned portfolios to the two ministers sworn in on July 26, 2017.
The ministers, Stephen Ocheni and Suleiman Hassan, were confirmed by the Senate on May 3.
Ocheni is now the Minister of State for Labour and Employment and Hassan is the Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing.
Ocheni replaced the late Minister of State for Labour, Mr James Ocholi, who died in a ghastly auto crash on Kaduna-Abuja highway in 2016. Hassan replaced Amina Mohammed, who resigned as Minister of Environment to take up the job of Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN).
The Acting President also sworn-in 15 Federal permanent secretaries from the 21 recently appointed.
Six of the new permanent secretaries were not inaugurated and will have to wait for permanent secretaries occupying their states’ slots in the service to retire.
Speaking during the event, Osinbajo said the new permanent secretaries were coming on board at a time the Federal Government was carrying out major reforms to reposition the country for greatness.
He said the anti-corruption war and the radical economic recovery and growth plan cannot succeed without the support of civil servants, which the newly appointees lead.
He hailed them for emerging through a rigorous selection process.
Osinbajo said: “Your appointment on a state-by-state basis is on merit and you are here today to be presented to this nation as the best that our civil service can offer.
“We are on the course of a radical economy recovery and growth effort that has as its core the implementation of a comprehensive diversification of the Nigerian economy. We are also implementing a major reform of public finance system, emphasising integrity and fiscal prudence.
“These reforms are being effected in the context of our determined anti-corruption programme and this effort cannot succeed without a competent and committed civil service corps led by your good selves.”
The Acting President reminded the new permanent secretaries that he had signed some executive orders to fast-track the implementation of government policies and programmes.
Osinbajo added: “These executive orders and several other directives of the Federal Government are meant to ensure that the reform programmes of the Federal Government succeed. Your role in it cannot be over-emphasised. Your role is not just to provide direction and leadership but also in the training of the core of the Civil Service and that is under your care and charge.
“We expect that Permanent Secretaries will be the drivers of the implementation of the Executive Orders and this is why training programme has been undertaken in order to do so and it is a continuous programme of training.”
He added: “Your coming into office at this time is a good signal and I believe very strongly that it will be an opportunity for a reset in some cases of projects and programmes that up till now may not have been fully implemented.
“It is also important to emphasise that this government is committed to an anti-corruption programme. It is easy to speak about corruption and to speak about anti-corruption programmes, but we want to emphasise that we do not believe that any nation can survive at the level of corruption that we have witnessed in our country in the past years.
“It is completely impossible to implement government policies or programmes or to ensure the benefit of economic programmes or the benefits of democracy will ever reach the ordinary man if corruption continues at the level it has been in previous years.
“This is why our commitment to corruption is not just a glib reference, it is not just glib talk, it is important, crucial and as a matter of fact as the President has said, if we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill us.”
The new appointees are Mrs. Ehuria Ekeoma (Abia), deployed to serve as Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Affairs, office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF); Mr. Akpan Sunday (Akwa Ibom), Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment; Mrs. Anabogu Nkiruka (Anambra), Ministry of women Affairs.
Others are Walson-Jack Esther (Bayelsa), office of the SGF as permanent secretary in charge of Service Welfare; Gekpe Isu- (Cross River), Ministry of Information and Culture and Aliboh Lawrence (Delta), Ministry of Budget and National Planning.
Uwaifo Clement (Edo) was deployed as permanent secretary to Ministry of Health; Folayan Olaniyi (Ekiti) is permanent secretary, Communications Services, office of the Head of Service of the Federation (HoSF).
Abdullahi Mashi (Katsina) was posted to the Ministry of Communications; Adebiyi Bolaji Adekunle (Lagos), Ministry of Labour and Employment; Ibrahim Wen (Nasarawa) will serve in the Ministry of Water Resources and Odewale Samson Olajide (Ogun) has been deployed to Special Services, Office of the SGF.
Adesola Olusade (Ondo) will serve in Ministry of Youth and Sports Development; Aduda Gabriel Tanimu (FCT) was posted to the office of the SGF as permanent secretary, Political Affairs Office and Umar Mohammed Bello (Sokoto) deployed as permanent secretary, Special Services office of the SGF.
Osuji Marcellinus (Imo), Mu’azu Abdulkadir (Kaduna), Sulaiman Lawal (Kano), Adekunle Adeyemi (Oyo), Nabasu Bako (Plateau) and Ekaro Chukumuebobo (Rivers) are those expected to be sworn-in at a later date.
Speaking to journalists at the end of the ceremony, Adebiyi said he was coming at a time the Federal Government is addressing the labour crisis.
He thanked the President for giving him and his colleagues the opportunity to serve the country at the highest level of their careers.